Cal's Memorial Stadium Ready For Opener After Completed Renovations

The Univ. of California's renovated Memorial Stadium “has passed its first test and now the Golden Bears are ready to see it filled up on game day,” according to Josh Dubow of the AP. The players “practiced running onto the field for pregame introductions Tuesday night, there were test runs for the lighting, the PA system, clocks and concession stands, and even the band was on hand.” Cal football coach Jeff Tedford yesterday said that the “only glitch were some problems with the play clock but nothing that should stop the $321 million seismic retrofit and renovation from being ready for the opener against Nevada on Sept. 1.” It will be the “first game on campus since 2010.” Cal played last season at AT&T Park, “across San Francisco Bay” (AP, 8/22). Tedford after Tuesday night’s mock game said that it took the team “two minutes to travel from its locker room in the Simpson Center to the north tunnel of Memorial Stadium, where it enters the field” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/23).

FACELIFT:In Louisiana, Nicholas Persac reports LSU officials have given the “aging” Tiger Stadium a “major facelift, complete with purple and gold lights around the stadium’s exterior.” Officials finished the first renovations to the facility during the ‘11 football season and since then, workers “have also added a new coating on the stadium’s outer façade.” LSU Associate Vice Chancellor/University Relations & Senior Associate AD/External Affairs Herb Vincent in a release said the renovations also include a new lighting system that “turns the upper archways of the north end of the stadium purple and gold and lights the iconic ‘LSU’ on the stadium’s north scoreboard.” In addition, officials are “working to complete other portions of the renovations in time for the Tiger’s season opener in Baton Rouge on Saturday, September 1 against North Texas.” One of the upgrades includes “adding 10-foot-tall illuminated letters spelling ‘Tiger Stadium’ below the west upper deck, which faces Nicholson Drive” (Lafayette DAILY ADVERTISER, 8/23).